


Everything Real

by tejaswrites



Series: The Grace of Shadows: Persephone Hawke & Knight-Captain Rylen [5]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Avvar Culture and Customs, Established Relationship, Eventual NSFWish, F/M, Implied Sexual Content, Mage Hawke (Dragon Age), Mage-Templar Relationship, POV Third Person, Relationship Study, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Rylen's a romantic, Slice of Life, even if it took awhile to realize it, they're just wildly in love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-12 11:48:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 8,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29135055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tejaswrites/pseuds/tejaswrites
Summary: Vignettes of Persephone Hawke and Knight-Captain Rylen falling in and being in love, spanning from their earliest days in Kirkwall to their post-Inquisition lives at Ptarmigan-Cliff Hold.Prompts from a combination of places, including14 Days of DA Lovers.Avvar culture and customs in Chapter 7.
Relationships: Female Hawke/Rylen (Dragon Age), Hawke/Rylen (Dragon Age)
Series: The Grace of Shadows: Persephone Hawke & Knight-Captain Rylen [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2001937
Comments: 6
Kudos: 7





	1. Wildflowers

**Author's Note:**

> Tags and rating may change as new content is added, though I’m going to try to keep it mature at most. Each chapter’s individual rating will be in the summary.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Rating** : Gen  
>  **Prompt** : Wildflowers
> 
> **Frostbacks, 9:63**  
>  It’s spring in the Frostbacks. One of the hold’s young men asks Rylen for romantic advice. As he gives it, he reminisces on loving Persephone.

It was one of those days in early spring when the earth had a last become more alive than dead, when Rylen laid back in the grass and tilted his head toward the late morning sun. The earth was still damp with the last of the melting snow disappearing no more than a few days before, but he enjoyed it anyway, as he did the first outing every spring.

Winters were harsh in the mountains and he relished the coming of summer, even if it was far from the ones he’d grown up with on the shores on the Minanter. The streams of the Frostbacks never ran warm enough to take a dip in, for him at least. The cold never kept the youth of the clan away though. Maybe they were made of sterner stuff, or maybe he was just getting too old to be playing in rivers like he did when he was young.

A shout from across the field drew his attention to where a group of teenage boys wrestled in an effort to impress a few of the young women braiding wildflowers into crowns nearby. The girls whispered behind their hands; giggles, laughter, and gasps slipping out every so often when the boys knocked each other into the dirt at their feet. Younger children frolicked: some cartwheeled down the hillside while others played tag, darting between the older youths and adults. Everyone celebrated the return of spring in their own way.

He tilted his face back toward the sun and couldn’t help but smile at the way his life had turned out.

A shadow interrupted his sunlight and he popped an eye open. 

Angus stood next to him. One of the older teens, he’d known Angus since they’d arrived at the hold nearly a decade ago, though he was just a boy then. He was proud of the man he was becoming. One who cared for his family and looked out for others. From what Rylen had learned about the Avvar, he might even be thane some day.

“Something wrong?”

Angus shook his head as he squatted down. “Can I ask something?” 

“I’m always glad to. You know that.”

“I know, but…” he hesitated as he sat down with crossed legs. He scratched at the back of his neck and his eyes flickered toward the group of young women crafting flower crowns. 

Rylen followed his gaze. No longer just young women, he realized as he caught sight of Persephone settled among them. Wrapped in the heavy winter skins she’d wear until the height of summer, she focused on a basket of greens, tying the collected herbs into bundles for drying. She laughed at something, and Rylen’s heart lightened at the smile that spread wide across her face.

Even after all these years and all his travels, her smile was still one of the most beautiful sights he’d ever seen.

At Angus’s continued silence, Rylen prompted him, “But what?” 

Angus snapped his eyes back to Rylen, away from the group of women. “You and Augur Hawke, you are not married.” 

“That’s right, we’re not.” 

“You never untied knots from her rope?” 

Rylen shook his head, wondering what the young man was getting at. “Nay.”

“Why not?” 

Rylen shrugged. Their arrangement might be unusual, even for the Avvar and their marriage traditions, but it worked for them and that was all that mattered. Years ago, when they’d first arrived in the mountains, some thought it meant they were available to marry others, but after so long most had come to understand they were committed to each other, marriage rope or not. “I love her, and she loves me. We don’t need a ceremony to tell us that.” 

Angus picked at the grass in front of him as Rylen glanced back over at Persephone, still bundling herbs as she chatted with the group of young women. Fifteen years since he’d first laid on her and fifteen years since he’d wanted anyone else. She’d been made from the same piece of the Fade as he, that much he knew. Even during their darkest days he’d never doubted that.

“How did you know?” Angus finally asked, intent on shredding the blades of grass he now held between his fingers.

“Know what?” 

“That you loved her...and that she loved you back.” 

Rylen laughed. “I’m not the one to give you that advice. I loved her far before she knew she felt the same.”

“But _how_ did you know?” he pressed.

Settling back on the grass, Rylen stared up at the sky. “It was intense, at first. The world was brighter and every breath sweeter because of her. Every moment of every day, she was all I thought about. All I wanted.”

Kirkwall was a world away now, as though it had been a dream. It wasn’t. He had been there, in the aftermath of the explosion, and so had she. They were different people now. How could they not be after all they’d been through?

“Yeah?” Angus breathed next to him. 

Rylen pushed himself onto his elbows and his glance confirmed the young man was hanging on his every word. “It was like now: the first warmth of spring after a long, dark winter. As though I finally lived for the first time.”

“I know what you mean.” 

“Do you now?”

Angus sucked in a deep breath, as though he were about to share something important. “I feel that way about Jorunn.”

“Jorunn Asdisdottir?” Rylen wouldn’t have that she would catch Angus’s attention, but then, who would have thought he’d catch Persephone’s? Love worked like that.

“Quiet!” Angus dipped his head and a flush appeared. “She’ll hear you.” 

“I dinna think so.” The group of young women surrounding Persephone were now singing and braiding each other’s hair, the young men showing off for them all but forgotten. The particular woman in question was situating a flower crown on her younger sister’s head.

“I want to marry her,” Angus confessed, following Rylen’s gaze.

It would be a good match. Jorunn was known to be as equally kind and generous as Angus was. If their marriage lasted, it would be good for the future of the hold. “And what does she think about that?” 

Angus shook his head. “I haven’t told her. What if she says no?” 

“She may, and if she does the gods will see that you find another good match.” 

“But I don’t want a good match. I want her,” the young man lamented.

“I know, Angus, I know.” Persephone had begun to gather her herb bundles, returning them to her basket. Rylen pushed himself to his feet, offering a hand to Angus to help him off the ground. “You dinna have to tell her today, but start letting her know how you feel about her.”

“How?”

“Talk to her. Pay attention. Learn. Some will tell you to give her gifts or sing her songs, but none of that matters until you know her. Let’s go help.” He gestured toward the group of women now gathering their belongings.

He held Persephone’s gaze as he crossed the meadow directly for her. “I’ll carry that,” he told her as he took the basket laden with spring herbs, slipping it onto his forearm.

“My savior,” she teased as she lifted her heels to give herself more height to give him a chaste peck on the cheek.

Rylen wasn’t letting get away that easily. He wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her properly. The herbs went flying out of the basket when he dipped her and her arms flew to wrap around his shoulders with a shriek, “Rylen!” 

He laughed and kissed the tip of her nose. “I got them.” 

And he did, picking up every last bundle and returning them to the basket on his arm, before he reached for her hand. “Back to the hold then?” 

“Were you matchmaking?” Persephone lifted an eyebrow and nodded in front of them. Angus walked alongside Jorunn and her sister, intently listening to whatever it was the former was talking about.

“Not so much that as encouraging,” he chuckled, bringing her hand to his lips and spreading kisses along her knuckles.

“You are hopeless.” 

“Aye,” he smiled as he intertwined their fingers. “Hopelessly in love with you.”

Persephone shook her head at him but returned his smile all the same. Hand in hand, they followed the group back to the hold, back to the life he wouldn’t trade for anything.


	2. A Tender Caress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Rating** : Teen  
>  **Prompt** : A tender caress
> 
> **Kirkwall, 9:38**  
>  Persephone considers her growing feelings for a certain templar.

Moonlight streamed through the open balcony doors as curtains rippled in the warm summer breeze. Persephone pressed her palm against Rylen’s, studying it in what pale light reached them. His hands were tempered by use, the calluses formed over years of working with his hands.

A Templar and a soldier. One of the first to arrive and one of the first to go out into the destruction of Kirkwall. He hadn’t been afraid to get his hands dirty then and he wasn’t now, all these months later, as he’d stayed to do what he could for the city. Her city.

Some would say it was part of the job for a Templar after the explosion, but it was more than that and it gave her feelings she had no right to entertain when it came to him. Even though there couldn’t be anything more for them, she would always remember how of himself much he’d given.

To Kirkwall, and to her.

“What are you thinking?” he asked, breaking the silence.

Her eyes darted to his, the blue piercing even in the darkness. She dropped her hand from his, tucking her arm between them. “About your hands.” 

His brow furrowed as he too dropped his hand to run his thumb over her cheek and along her jaw. The roughness of his calloused thumb was like an electric shock down her spine. “My hands?” 

“Mhmm.” She turned her face to press a kiss to his palm. “I find them fascinating.” 

“Do you now?” 

She smiled. “You know I do, Templar.” 

“Maybe I just like to hear you say it.” 

She wrapped a hand around his wrist and leaned her face into his hand once more. A flutter of butterfly wings erupted in her chest and the words caught in her throat as she gazed back at him. The truth of how he made her feel would stay buried deep inside, butterflies or not. Better to bring them back to the safe territory of the surface level...relationship they had.

It _was_ a relationship, was it not? He’d spent most nights in her bed and she’d stopped seeing anyone else. At his request. When had Persephone ever cared what the men in her bed wanted?

He’s not like the other men, a tiny voice at the back of her head reminded her, but she squashed it down. She squashed the butterflies that danced around her heart for good measure. Going soft now wouldn’t benefit either of them. What they had was physical, it was all it could be.

“And perhaps I need a reminder of exactly how talented they are.” 

A melancholy descended over them and the smile he gave her didn’t quite reach his eyes. He gave her cheek a tender caress before gripping her wrists, lifting them over her head as he rolled over her. “As you wish, _a leannan_.”


	3. Under the Twilight Sky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Rating** : Gen  
>  **Prompt** : Candlelight
> 
> **Western Approach, 9:42**  
>  Rylen surprises Persephone for a carefree night at Griffon Wing Keep.

The last of the sunset had begun to fade into twilight as the wick of the last candle caught. Rylen stepped back and surveyed his work in the warm candlelight that lit the tent and spilled out the open front to the keep beyond. Persephone was due back to the keep any moment, and it wouldn’t be a moment too soon. Keeping tonight a secret had been one of the harder things he’d had to do lately, even with Edgar stumbling across a new quillback den a couple weeks back.

A rumble vibrated through the stone, the familiar cranking of the gate as it went down for the night. 

She was back.

Cerberus reached him before Persephone did, the black mabari skittered around the edge of the tent, nearly toppling the tent and with it the table—full of food and lit candles—in his haste to greet Rylen.

“At ease, boy!” he laughed, “It’s good to see you too.”

Cerberus gave him a wet kiss up the left side of his face, which Rylen was still wiping off when Persephone appeared.

“You know I adore Edgar, but if he makes me go phoenix hunting one more time—” she broke off abruptly as she caught sight of him. She side eyed the mabari. “You always act like you’re never going to see him again.” 

A happy bark was all Cerberus gave her in response, and it made Rylen laugh. 

He stepped forward to slide one arm around her waist. “I’m glad at least someone missed me, _a leannan_.” 

“Oh, stop it. You know I do.” 

With the other hand, he cradled her cheek, tipping her head back to meet his gaze. He ghosted his thumb over her lips. “Mmm, yes, but Bear tells me he did.” 

That earned him an eye roll. “It was only a few hours. Edgar had no idea where the blasted phoenix was.”

“Good.” 

She frowned at him. “Good?”

“You weren’t to actually find one. I only wanted you out of the keep for a few hours.” Rylen stepped back so she could see inside the tent. It was makeshift, filled with the small table covered in food.

“But…” Her eyes darted around the food spread across the table. Willie’d been helping him sneak her favorites for weeks, buying them from the traders that passed through before she could. “Today’s not my birthday.” 

A laugh slipped out before he could stop it. “I know.” 

“Then...what is it for?” 

“Do I need a reason?” He curled his arm around her waist and pulled her toward him again. “Maybe I just wanted to do something for the woman I love.”

“But—”

Rylen spun her around to silence whatever protest she might try this time. In her surprise, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and they went from spinning straight into dancing.

The music from the recreation tent hadn’t started up yet, but what did he care? Her eyes sparkled in the candlelight and a smile had transformed her face. For a moment, they were untroubled by all that hung over them. But even still, maybe this could be them someday when it was all said and done. Maybe then they could have thousands of dinners by candlelight and dance under the twilight sky without the world hanging over them.

Persephone laid her head against his chest and they swayed in time to their own music. The worries of tomorrow were for another time. For now, this was enough.


	4. Pure Poetry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Rating** : Teen  
>  **Prompt** : Blushing
> 
> **Western Approach, 9:42**  
>  After weeks of travel, Persephone finally receives a letter from Rylen.

The Western Approach was worse than she’d expected. Their first several days had been swallowed by a sandstorm and in the aftermath, she’d already wasted half the morning de-sanding her belongings.

At least Loghain had taken the young Inquisitor out to work on his sword skills so she could de-sand in peace.

She was arranging her tent when a gentle cough came from outside. “Hawke?” 

“Yes?” She rose to her feet and ducked out to find Cassandra Pentaghast outside, book in hand and a blanket thrown over her arm.

She held out a letter, at least a couple pages judging by how thick it was folded. “This arrived for you.”

“Thank you.” Her surname was written across the front in Rylen’s strong hand and she ran her fingers over it with a smile. The weeks they’d been apart were already too long. She missed him desperately.

She slid a finger under the flap to break the seal, when Cassandra stopped her. 

“Before you do that...that tree has the right amount of shade for a reading break.” Cassandra nodded at one of the trees near the small pond of water that sparkled prettily in the morning sun. She lifted her book as she added, “Join me?”

Persephone nodded, and the two women travelled the short distance from camp to the shade of the tree. Her fingers idly played with the letter as they walked, running along its folded edges and picking at the flap. It was the first letter she’d gotten since they’d left Val Firmin and that had been weeks ago now.

The few others she’d received before that had been short: a brief update and a poem scrawled at the bottom of one of Cullen’s letters. She could almost see the exasperation in Cullen’s writing as he noted that Rylen would be adding a postscript of his own. 

Of course, she understood why personal notes had to be tucked into what available space he could find. The Inquisition used a lot of paper in its correspondences across Thedas and it wasn’t cheap. 

There was little to spare for messages of more personal nature, which is why this one was all the more valuable.

Cassandra spread her blanket over the sand and spread out on it, laying her book on the ground in front of her. She rested her chin on her hand as she opened it, quickly losing herself in the story.

Not having the foresight to bring her own blanket—not that she would have given how recently she’d finally gotten all the sand out—Persephone settled down with her back against the tree and knees pulled up to her chest.

She gazed at the letter, enjoying the brief moment of delight before she once more slipped her finger under the edge and broke the wax seal.

Her heart skipped a beat as she unfolded it to an entire page of text, tightly written across every open space. A quick flip of the page confirmed the back and the front of the next page were equally as packed. Relief washed over her, ridding her of the stress of the past few days. The past few weeks, truly, as traveling with the young Inquisitor was no easy feat in the best of times.

At least this time she had Loghain to distract him. And speaking of Maxton, she wouldn’t have much time until he found his way back to camp. 

Persephone flipped back to the beginning of the letter, and began to read.

> _A leannan,_
> 
> _Whatever trouble I end up in for pilfering so much paper, it was worthwhile. These weeks at Skyhold have been lonelier than I knew they could be. I missed you the last time, terribly as you know. But now I don’t know when I’ll see you next, and that made the longing painful._
> 
> _I’m not the only one who misses you, as you could have guessed. Cerberus thinks he’s keeping me company, but I know it’s me keeping him. Or at least, he lets me believe that. I told him what you said in your last note and it helped, I think. He’s been calmer since._
> 
> _Skyhold is as it always is when the Inquisitor is away. I moved from the barracks to the camp, since I spend most of my days down there anyway now. It’s easier now that the weather turned and the snow has mostly melted._
> 
> _I am glad to know you made it to the Western Approach without a problem. I pray it stays that way. Reports tell me whatever you’ll find out there can’t be good. I know you feel responsible for what’s happened with the Wardens, but you can’t take them on alone. Reinforcements will be dispatched as soon as we get the word. I beg of you, do not do anything reckless._

“I’m never reckless,” she muttered at the page.

Cassandra glanced up. “What?” 

“Nothing,” Persephone told her, quickly returning to the letter in her hand.

> _I have it on good authority that you’ll insist you’re never reckless, but Cullen assures me you are._

Of course Cullen would say that. If doing what needed to be done when no one else would was considered reckless, so be it. She’d certainly been called worse than that.

The letter continued, giving her updates on life at Skyhold without her. With the military preparations in progress, he’d had to cancel the weekly card game. As disappointed as she was for him, she was glad that she might have a chance to get to his level. If Varric wondered why Persephone cared now, after all the years she’d refused in Kirkwall, he never let on. They’d been playing most nights on the road.

She’d happily gamble what remained of her portion of the Amell estate away if it meant she got to see the look on Rylen’s face when she beat him.

There were more notes on the military through the bottom of the page. It shouldn’t surprise her, he was Cullen’s second-in-command after all, but to waste such precious space with that seemed a rather odd choice.

When she flipped the page over, she understood why.

She inhaled sharply before she quickly folded the page in half and looked up to see if anyone had noticed. Cassandra was still focused on her book, idly flipping a page when Persephone glanced at her, and any others still at camp were too far to see the bright pink tinge that was sure to be showing on her heated cheeks.

Her tent might be a better place to finish reading, but then she may draw attention to herself and then Cassandra would know exactly what content the letter held.

She couldn’t have that.

Instead, she carefully unfolded it once more and flipped to the backside. Her heart thudded in her chest as she read. It might not have been a poem, but Rylen’s descriptions were pure poetry on the page. Line after line of everything from descriptions of her body in moonlight to some of the more... _specific_ plans when they were finally together again.

It had heat in more than just cheeks by the time she was finished with the page.

“Hawke?” 

She dropped the letter of her lap as she snapped her eyes up to Cassandra. “Yes?” she asked a little too quickly.

“Are you...blushing?” 

“Am I?” Persephone patted her cheeks in an attempt at surprise.

“That must be quite the letter.” Persephone’s face burned even hotter knowing she’d been caught out, but Cassandra didn’t dwell on it. She reached down to pull Persephone off the ground, “Come. You should return to your tent and finish reading it before the Inquisitor gets back.”

Persephone gave Cassandra her most grateful look. “Thank you.” 

Cassandra nodded at her. “You are happy.”

“I am,” Persephone said as she tucked the letter away. “The happiest.”

And it was true. She was the happiest she’d ever been with him. He loved her, and she loved him, and that was everything.


	5. A Better Idea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Rating** : Teen  
>  **Prompt** : Wearing the other’s clothes
> 
>  **Frostbacks, 9:50**  
>  It’s fall in the Frostbacks and Rylen’s shirt isn’t enough to keep Persephone warm.

The gentle nudge of a wet nose woke her. When she opened her eyes, she found herself staring straight into Cerberus’s soulful brown ones. It was still dark, but the moonlight illuminated his familiar face. His once black fur had gone grey years ago and the sagging of his skin made it hard to ignore exactly how many years had passed since she’d first met him, a small pup, black at the void itself.

“What is it, boy?” The question came out hushed, her throat dry from the full night’s sleep.

Cerberus gave her a high pitched whine and sat down, his stare as intent as ever.

“I see, I’m coming.” She hauled herself out from the warmth of the bed—the warmth of Rylen next to her—and snagged his shirt from the back of the chair. She didn’t need much to stand in the doorway as her old mabari took care of his morning business.

He beat her through the front room and sat patiently next to the front door, his tail whacking a rhythmic pattern against the wall. She rubbed the top of his head, paying attention to the spot between his eyes, before she opened the door and let him loose.

Cerberus ambled outside, pausing to sniff the air every few steps, leaving her wondering whether or not he’d merely wanted to spend some time outside before the Hakkon’s breath covered the mountains in snow. Officially, it was still summer, at least until the equinox in a week’s time, but autumn’s chill had begun to creep into the morning air. 

With her arms wrapped around her midsection, she perched one foot on top of the other in an attempt to warm her chilled toes. She was tempted to leave the door cracked open and let Cerberus return on his own time, but then the house would be cold and that would be worse than a few moments of inconvenience.

At least, that was what she told herself, though she was quickly changing her mind.

Strong arms wrapped around her shoulders from behind and she melted into Rylen’s warmth. “What’s got you up so early?” 

“Bear needed to go out,” she told him, wrapping her fingers around his forearms, welcoming the heat that began to spread through her chilled body.

“Wear your coat next time. As ravishing as you look in my shirt,” he murmured against her ear, “I can’t have you freezing to death.”

“It’s summer!” she protested, twisting in his arms to give him a poke in the ribs. He wasn’t wearing a shirt all, which Persephone found profoundly unfair.

“It’s _fall_ and in the Frostbacks, _a leannan_ ,” he chuckled, “The days of the desert are long behind us.” 

“Thank the gods for that.” 

“Yes,” he agreed, planting a kiss at the top of her head, “We have much to thank them for.”

She sighed and settled her weight against him, the heat of his body once more warming her. Rylen rested his chin on the top of their head as they both watched Cerberus wander about the hold. He’d found something particularly interesting and was digging his nose into the underbrush when Rylen abruptly released her.

Before she had a chance to tumble backwards, he’d wrapped an arm around her waist and swept the other under her legs, easily lifting her. She gasped, “What are you doing?” 

“I’ve a better way to warm you up.” With his foot, he closed the door, leaving just enough space for Cerberus to come back inside.

“But what about—”

“He’s fine. He’s lived here as long as we,” Rylen cut her off as he crossed toward their bedroom.

“I know.”

He kicked the door shut behind them and then set her down on the bed. He pulled his shirt over her head, wrapped his arms around her, and pulled the blanket over them.

Cuddled against his chest, it wasn't long before the chill had disappeared entirely. She snuck a glance at his face to find his eyes closed. “Rylen?”

“Mhmm?”

“Was this all you had in mind to warm me up?”

His eyes popped open and eyebrow lifted. “Do you have a better idea?”

“Oh,” she tilted her face toward his as she danced the fingers of one hand down his chest. “I’m certain we could think of something...”

He slid his hand down her back, around her backside, until he was lifting her leg over his. “I’m sure we can.”

Birds chirped outside their window and the first sounds of the hold awakening for the morning reached her ears as they gazed at each other. The wrinkles around his eyes grew more pronounced each year, but the spark in his eyes was the same as it has always been. Thirteen years and she loved him more every day.

She wrapped her hand around the back of his neck and pulled his mouth toward hers.


	6. Stolen Glances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Rating** : Gen  
>  **Prompt** : Stolen glances
> 
> **Kirkwall, 9:37**  
>  During a party at Viscount’s Keep, Cullen notices the stolen glances between Viscountess Hawke and Knight-Captain Rylen.

There were few things in Cullen’s life at the moment that were worse than a room full of nobles that he was expected to socialize with. What was worse, however, was that Hawke _knew_ that and insisted he be here anyway.

“You have to be there, Rutherford,” she’d insisted that afternoon while sitting in his office behind his desk. “The people of Kirkwall need to see that their Knight-Commander and Viscountess are working together to rebuild the city.” 

She was right, though he didn’t want to admit to it. That was the only reason he was here, because he’d rather be almost anywhere else than wearing a formal uniform up at the keep in a room full of Kirkwall’s nobility.

One of them, a Lord Philandrius…something, was blathering on over some complaint of a corner of Hightown they hadn’t gotten to fast enough. He considered telling the man where to take his complaints about a piece of damaged stone when the rest of the city was still in rubble, but at that exact moment Hawke appeared next to him and expertly distracted the man.

He didn’t understand how she did it, but soon the man’s complaints changed to praises for the work that had been accomplished so far. That meant a speech was coming on, and Cullen wanted nothing to do with that. 

As he gazed around the room, his new knight-captain from Starkhaven caught his eye, talking to a group of templars.

“Excuse me,” he told them, and left Hawke to listen to the man’s speech. She was viscountess after all. Dealing with the nobles was part of that job description.

One of the others, a Starkhavener by the name of Geddes that had come with Rylen to assist with the relief efforts, was telling the group a joke when Cullen joined them.

Rylen nodded at him. “All good, Knight-Commander?” 

“Yes,” Cullen sighed, “Though I’d rather be doing actual work than here.” 

“I understand, ser.” 

The group around them burst out laughing and Geddes slapped Rylen’s shoulder. “Isna that right, Clacher?” 

Rylen’s gaze had drifted to the side and he snapped it back to Geddes at the contact. “I wasna listening. What was that?”

“Eh, it was the one about old Donny and that time the cap sent him to Markham…” Geddes was saying, but Rylen had barely looked at the man before he stole a glance to the side once more.

Cullen followed it to where Hawke was still patiently listening to Lord Whoever. Not entirely surprising given their relation...that they’d seen each other a few times, but he started to wonder if there was something more and whether or not he needed to be concerned. 

At least for Rylen. Hawke could handle herself.

As though she’d heard his thoughts, she cast a glance their direction. No, not theirs, Rylen’s. It was quick, barely noticeable, but the subtle smile that followed on Rylen’s face told him everything he needed to know.

It wasn’t long after Hawke sent another glance Rylen’s way when Rylen said, “Ser, I have a request.” 

“The night off?” Cullen asked.

Rylen’s eyebrows lifted and he straightened. “Aye.”

“Granted. Report to Lowtown in the morning.”

“Thank you.” Rylen gave him a brief nod and turned away.

“And knight-captain?” 

“Ser?”

Another warning about getting involved with Hawke was on the tip of his tongue, but something stopped him. The stolen glances weren’t one sided, and maybe that meant that anything more that developed wouldn’t be either. “Have fun tonight.”


	7. A Love Like That

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Rating** : Teen  
>  **Prompt** : A single lily, a cliff, three hours
> 
>  **Frostbacks, 9:65**  
>  One of Ptarmigan-Cliff Hold’s young men is due to return at any moment with the woman he plans to marry. Persephone and the hold’s thane wait in the clearing on the cliffside to perform the intention ceremony.

A rock skittered down the cliffside and Rylen jumped to his feet. In front of him, Persephone stiffened, the single pink lily she’d been twirling in her fingers frozen, as they looked toward the entrance to the clearing, and waited.

When a doe darted across the path, a fawn hot on her heels, Rylen’s shoulders relaxed with a disappointed sigh. He glanced up at the sun. Mid-morning already and the boy had yet to return.

In a few strides, he was next to her and he lowered his mouth toward her ear, keeping his voice low. “How long do you plan to wait?”

“As long as it takes,” came her curt reply.

“It’s been three hours,” he whispered back, “I had things to do.” 

She turned to glare at him. “Things? What things?” 

“You dinna believe me?” He lifted an eyebrow in mock surprise, suppressing the smile that went along with it. “To start, I’d have made love to a beautiful woman all morning.”

Persephone rolled her eyes as she shook her head and turned back to the clearing. “I have to be here when they get back.”

“He could’ve failed. Oyvin’s a good hunter, but he’s not subtle.”

“I’m aware.” She pressed her lips together and lifted her chin as she gazed out at the clearing in front of them. Much of the hold had wandered off, their duties too important to ignore any longer, but a handful still waited alongside Persephone and Thane Sigge for the boy to return with his future bride. “If he failed, he needs me anyway.” 

“Right.” If Oyvin failed in the ‘kidnapping’, he’d most likely have to be carried back by the two men they’d sent after him. The girl had agreed to the match, but that meant little when it came to this part. Oyvin still had to prove himself by snatching her right out from under her hold’s watch.

“He’ll be fine.” Persephone reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze.

“I pray that’s true. He’s a good kid.” They’d known the boy his entire life. They might not be blood, but Rylen had a hand in raising him into the man he’d become as much as any other in the hold.

“And he’ll make her a fine husband.” Persephone squeezed his hand once more before she released him, returning to twirling the lily. It was looking more and more wilted with each twirl.

“That he will.” He nodded at the flower. “Do you have another one of those?”

Persephone shook her head. “I thought we’d be finished by now.”

Next to them, Sigge held up a hand to silence them. Rylen strained his ears, listening for what the man had heard. Twenty years in the Frostbacks was no match for a lifetime of experience in the sounds of the mountains, but he eventually picked out the rhythmic pattern of footfall.

They were running.

Persephone sucked in a breath and held it as Oyvin burst into the clearing with a young woman in tow. The two men they’d sent after them appeared shortly thereafter, and the entire group stopped in the center to catch their breath. As they did, Rylen stepped back, joining the handful of hold members that remained to watch the ritual.

After a few moments, Oyvin murmured something to the young woman. She shifted the small bundle under her arm to the opposite, and Oyvin reached for her hand. Still breathing heavily, he stepped forward. “Thane Sigge. Augur Hawke. I have brought Erla Arsoldottir of White-Wolf Hold and it is my intent to marry her.”

Sigge smiled, relief evident on his weathered face. “We are glad you have come, Erla Arsoldottir.” 

“And it is in goodness that I come, my thane.” She held Sigge’s gaze as she spoke, her voice clear and loud. When she was finished, she dropped her gaze to his feet.

“Erla Arsoldottir.” Persephone stepped forward and waited for Erla to look up before she extended the lily toward her. “Is it your intent to allow Oyvin Mimirsen to untie knots from your marriage rope?”

“It is.” Erla took the lily and in turn, offered it to Oyvin. “I choose you, Oyvin Mimirsen of Ptarmigan-Cliff Hold, if you will have me.”

“I will.”

Rylen couldn’t see Erla’s face, but the smile on Oyvin’s said plenty. It would be a happy match, and if the hold was blessed, they’d welcome a new addition next spring.

With the intention ceremony complete, Persephone and the rest of the women led Erla toward the path down the cliff, back toward the hold. She’d stay with one until the knot untying ceremony and she and Oyvin moved into their own hut. It was almost complete, the young man had toiled hard to make sure it would be ready for them.

The remaining men gathered around Oyvin, offering their congratulations on successfully bringing Erla back to the hold. All but one, who followed the woman toward the path.

“Angus!” Rylen called, increasing his gait to catch up to the other man. “What happened?” 

Angus shook his head and blew out a breath. “They caught on to what was happening and chased them halfway to the lowlands. Gods blessed us and led us to a stream that covered our tracks and we could circle back.”

“Thanks be for that.” 

“Aye,” Angus agreed with a laugh, “Otherwise it’d have taken another half day for us to make it back. Thought I might miss my own babe’s birth.”

“That soon?” The couple had just had their own knot untying ceremony last summer.

“Midwife says any day now.” Angus inclined his head toward the path and the two men headed down it, back toward the hold.

“How’s Jorunn?” 

“Ready to meet the babe,” he laughed, “And with the Lady’s blessing, it won’t be much longer now.” 

At Angus’s loud laugh, Persephone looked over her shoulder at them. Rylen blew her a kiss, fully expecting another eye roll, but instead, she surprised him by blowing him one of her own in response.

“I want that with Jorunn.”

Rylen glanced back at Angus. Had he said something that Rylen missed? “Want what?”

“A love like that.” Angus nodded toward the women. Rylen’s heart swelled at the thought of him and Persephone being an inspiration for the young couples of the hold. They didn’t know the half of it, but they didn’t need to. What they had now was all that mattered.

As though she knew they were talking about her, she hung back from the group and waited for them further up the path. Angus greeted her with a warm hug and a kiss on her cheek before firmly gripping Rylen’s shoulder in goodbye and disappearing into the forest, a shortcut back to the hold that only young used.

Persephone looped her arm in Rylen’s and they started slowly down the main path. “I have some tasks to take care of, but not until this afternoon.”

“What are you thinking?”

“Well…” She drew out the word and cast her eyes up to his. “There were some… _things_ you had to do this morning. And...I recall one of them involving me.” 

“Did it?” he mused, looking skyward as he feigned contemplation in what she was talking about. “What was that?”

“You know.” 

“I’m certain I don’t.” 

“Rylen Clacher!” She whacked his arm. “Yes, you do. I am on to you, you know.” 

He flashed her his cheekiest grin and rested his hand on top of hers, and together they strolled down the path as though they had all the time in the world.


	8. Right Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Rating** : Teen  
>  **Prompt** : Breathless kisses
> 
> **Western Approach, 9:42**  
>  After nearly two months apart, Rylen finally is reunited with Persephone.

That morning when he woke, it was with Persephone in his arms. For the first time in almost two months, the world was right again. Any troubles he’d had melted away by simply being with her once more.

She was already awake, her deep blue eyes studying him as though she couldn’t believe her eyes, as the first light of morning crept into the tent. 

He lifted his hand to her face and cradled her cheek. No words were necessary as they gazed at each other, learning the shapes of each other’s faces once more. 

“ _A leannan_ ,” he murmured and rubbed his nose back and forth against hers. 

“I missed you.” She brushed her lips across his. “So much.”

His heart blossomed under the palms she’d laid flat against his chest, filling more with love for her than he’d ever thought a heart capable. He ran a thumb across her lower lip before he took a slow breath, then brushed his lips over hers in return.

They breathed from the same air for a wild beat of his heart, and then her fingers clutched at his chest and she pressed herself against him, deepening the kiss. He wrapped his hand around the back of his head and held her close. Her body molded perfectly against him, made for him and him alone, and the moment was everything.

They broke apart, chests heaving with the breaths they hadn’t taken, but it wasn’t long before they came back together for more breathless kisses.

He kissed her until the sounds of the camp waking around them were too loud to ignore.

But he did, resting his forehead against hers. “I love you.” 

A contented smile ghosted across her eyes stayed locked on his, as though she could see into the depths even he didn’t know. “You are my heart, Rylen.”


	9. In the Afterglow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Rating** : Mature  
>  **Prompt** : Candlelight observations
> 
>  **Kirkwall, 9:37**  
>  In the afterglow, Rylen observes Persephone by firelight.

The world came back into focus gradually, in bits and pieces of awareness. The rough wool of the rug needled against his back contrasted heavily with the smoothness of Persephone’s skin against his chest. He took a deep breath, the first since they’d started the activities that landed him flat on his back on this rug with her draped over him in the first place. She had a perfectly fine bed and he preferred to use it, but they hadn’t made it that far before their need for each other had become too great.

“Mmm,” was all she said as she trailed her fingers down his chest. The touch sent a shudder through his body, one she was proud of if the look on her face as she pushed herself to a seat was anything to go by.

She twisted, reaching for her wine glass on the cocktail table. Rylen studied her in the firelight dancing over her features, highlighting the curves of her body he’d come to know well across nights of explorations. She was different than those he’d been with before. Not as shapely or soft the women, or as muscled and angular as the men, but rather somewhere in between. Almost as though her lithesome body had been sculpted to a perfection he never knew existed.

Her dark hair was swept to one side, casting her face in shadow. Her eyes glinted in the firelight as she brought the glass to her lips and took a slow sip, her gaze locked on his. Her eyes fluttered closed, throat bobbing as she swallowed, and the stirrings of desire began to awaken inside of him once more.

Desire and...he couldn’t put a finger on the other that burgeoned in his chest.

He tugged on her thigh, urging her back toward him. Her tongue snaked out across her lips and then one side lifted along with her eyebrows. “More already?” 

“I canna have enough of you.” He ran the hand up as far as he could reach, far short of the part of her body he wanted to touch. “You know that.”

She took her time setting her glass back on the table. Then she maneuvered her body over his and his hands came to her hips as naturally as breathing. She ran her tongue up along his jawline until her lips were at his ear. “That goes both ways, Templar.”


	10. Midnight Rendezvous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Rating** : Mature  
>  **Prompt** : Midnight rendezvous
> 
>  **Kirkwall, 9:37**  
>  Rylen is woken by a messenger from Viscount’s Keep requesting his presence. Immediately.

The silence of the Gallows was eerie at this time of night, when most of the city had gone to bed. It still hummed with magic as circles did, but the magic here was different than that he’d known all his life at Starkhaven. It was darker and more dangerous, and as he stood in the near silent room staring at the messenger he’d been woken to speak to, he wondered how the magic didn’t drive the people mad.

“Repeat that one more time,” he told the messenger. He thought she’d said the viscountess requested he come to the keep at once. There was only one reason she’d send that message right now.

The scout repeated the words in the same even tone she’d used the first time, “Viscountess Hawke requests the pleasure of your presence. Immediately.”

“At this time of night?”

At the messenger’s curt nod, Rylen sighed. What he had with Persephone might be casual, but that didn’t mean she could beckon him whenever she wanted. He was half-tempted to refuse, but then the messenger would have to return to the keep alone and he couldn’t allow that. Kirkwall at night was no place for anyone to be caught out alone.

“I need a bit to get dressed and I’ll come with you. Wait here,” he instructed, before heading back to his room in the barracks. He threw a leather vest over his simple shirt and belted his sword into place. On top of both, he threw on a cloak before he gathered the messenger and they set out into the city.

It was quiet and they arrived at the keep without incident. The messenger led him through the silent keep toward Persephone’s rooms, leaving him when the door was in sight. 

A guard stood outside it and he nodded at Rylen as he approached. “Go on in, she’s waiting. “

“Thank you,” Rylen nodded at the man. He reached for the door handle, but paused before pushing it open. “What’s your name?” 

“Coleman.” 

“Good to know you, Coleman. I’m Rylen.” 

Coleman nodded in acknowledgement. “I know.”

And with that, Rylen knocked once before he pushed the door open. The room was warmed by a fire, it’s orange light casting stark shadows over the room. 

Persephone lounged in a chair nearby, glass of wine in hand. “Templar.”

“Viscountess.” He pulled off his cloak, adding it to the rack next to the door, before unbelting his sword and setting it nearby. 

She stayed silent as she watched and only when he approached the small sitting area did she rise to her feet, her black silk robe slipping over one shoulder when she did. “Drink? I had a bottle of whisky brought up for you.” 

He didn’t need to answer as she was already on her way to the sideboard that had the alcohol sitting on top. While she poured him a drink, he sat down in one of the chairs and considered his approach.

He knew why he was here. He could have most of his clothes off within moments and they could be in bed before he even started his drink, but he decided against it. She couldn’t be beckoning him in the middle of the night like this.

When she handed him his drink, he noticed that she’d pulled the robe back over her shoulder, leaving only her neck and a deep v on her chest exposed. That and her legs, which she curled beneath her on the couch.

They each sipped their drink slowly, gazing across the small sitting area at each other. At last she said, “Thank you for coming.” 

Unable to contain his surprise, he lifted his eyebrows. “You thought I wouldn’t?”

“The possibility crossed my mind, yes.”

“I almost didn’t.” 

“Yet you did.” 

He would be honest with her, even if it had him sleeping in the guard barracks here by the end. “I won’t again.” Her nostrils flared slightly as she ran her tongue over her lower lip between rubbing the two together, and he added, “Not at this time of night. Ask me sooner or not at all.”

“Understood.”

Rylen let out the breath he hadn’t known he was holding and lifted his drink once more to his mouth.

She lifted her chin as they held each other’s gazes. Aside from her nostrils flaring once more, he couldn’t read her face. He didn’t have long to wonder what she was thinking, as she told him, “Take off your clothes.”

To the point. He did appreciate that she would tell him what she wanted. Physically at least. More than that, she played her cards close to her chest.

He set his glass on the table next to his chair and started with his boots. Since he wasn’t wearing armor, unlacing and kicking them off would be the slowest part, and he took his time. Then he started to unbutton his vest, rising to his feet as he shrugged it off and tossed it on the chair he’d been sitting in. Snagging his glass, he started toward the bed.

“Where are you going?” she called after him. 

Rylen glanced back over his shoulder at her, still perched on the couch. “To bed.”

She frowned, and he continued on his way, setting his glass down once more, this time on the table next to the bed. He reached over his head to pull his shirt off. He tossed it at the chest of drawers against the wall and lowered himself to the bed. He grabbed his drink and leaned back on one hand, taking another slow sip as he watched Persephone approach.

Approach she did with all the grace of a cat on the hunt. He willingly allowed himself to be captured by her.

“You forgot your trousers.” 

“Nae,” he shook his head, “I want you to help.” 

Her tongue darted out as she trailed her gaze from his face, down over his chest and lower. Need gathered low in his abdomen under her perusal of his body. When she moved closer still, he tilted his head back so he could meet her gaze, dark and heavy with need of her own.

She slid one knee onto the bed and then the other, until she straddled him.

Rylen sucked in a sharp breath when she settled onto his lap and trailed her fingers down his chest. Then she dipped two fingers into his drink and drew them down her neck, leaving a streak of whisky in their wake.

He leaned forward and ran his tongue along the path her fingers had just taken. The sweet flavor of the whisky heightened by the creaminess of her skin. He didn’t stop at the whisky, continuing the slide of his tongue up further to the sensitive spot behind her ear. When he brushed his teeth against it, a shudder ran through her and she clutched his shoulders. His other hand encircled her waist, pulling her tightly against him and he murmured, “I like this kind of drink.”

“Oh?” she breathed.

“Aye.” Rylen tugged her off him and guided her to her back on the bed next to him. He loosened the sash of her robe and pushed it off her, until she was bare before him. He poured what was left of his drink over her body. “I think I’ll have more.”


End file.
